Once Upon an Asylum
by tainy4
Summary: When the Evil Queen casts the curse that sends all the fairytale characters to "a world without magic", something goes wrong and instead of creating a whole new town where everyone live with false identities, everyone is sent as themselves to the real world. How will our heroes handle waking up to the new reality? And more importantly: how will they get back to their land?


Special note: if you're a beta reader or just a grammar nazi who's familiar with OUAT and you'd like to be my beta for the next chapter, please message me!

Hope you enjoy this chapter, I'll post the next one as fast as I can :)

* * *

Three knocks on the door woke Henry up. He pulled an allnighter the previous night, hiding under the blanket, to finish the last Harry Potter book, and so when he came back from school the next day he immediately fell asleep on the couch. He pushed his hands against his eyes in big circles, giving in to the fireworks and spirals and all kinds of bright, colorful shapes that appeared before his eyes, to wake himself up as he walked without looking toward the door.

"Who's this?" He asked loudly so the person on the other side of the door could hear. After a few seconds of silence, he looked through the peephole, and seeing the empty hall he opened the door to a small creek he could look through. He scanned the hall in his eyes, and right before he shut the door he noticed a box on the floor. He opened the door widely and took a closer look at the box. It was big and covered with leather. It seemed expensive. He carried it inside, but could only carry it for a few inches before dropping it on the floor. It was heavier than it seemed.

He closed the door behind him and turned to open the box. Inside, there was a big book. The words "Once Upon a Time" were written on the cover, with nothing beside it. No author, no picture; nothing.

"Strange," he said out loud, then opened the book to the first page. An empty page. He then quickly flipped through the rest of the pages, the ones that for change, did have more than four words written in them. It was a collection of fairytales, and oddly, he knew none of them. He knew their names, though. The big headlines in the beginning of many pages seemed familiar to him._ Snow White and the Huntsman, Snow White and Prince Charming, Red Riding Hood, Cinderella_ - They were all familiar, but from where? Then it hit him. Those were all the stories his mother kept him from reading. He had heard about them in kindergarten or school, but when he asked his mother to read him the stories or to buy him the books she would always refuse. And she would never give him money; She said that she'll buy him anything that he would want. Anything, except those books. And now all of those forbidden stories were lying in front of him, waiting to be read. He knew that he had to be quick, his mom would come back in a few hours and when she will, she will search through his room, just like she had done each day ever since he could remember. He pushed the book to his room since the distance was too long for him to carry it, shut the door behind him and locked it, then started reading. As he read, he noticed that there was one character that appeared in almost every story. The evil queen. She shared the exact same name as his mother, but she couldn't have been her. Those were fairytales, Henry knew that. But it didn't stop the growing feeling inside of him, that maybe those stories are true, and the evil queen is his mother. He kept reading, ignoring the pictures that were in almost every page, knowing his time was running out and that he couldn't bother looking at them. The last story started with Snow White and Prince Charming's wedding. It had been interrupted by the queen, who threatened to cast a curse that will send everyone in the fairytale land to a world without magic. Snow was pregnant, and when she was about to give birth to her child the curse had been casted. Snow and Charming, along with all of their friends, had a plan that would save Snow's daughter, but when she was born it was too late for her to be saved. Charming tried to protect her but almost died in the battle, and the curse took everyone to a land without magic. In the new land, Snow and Charming's daughter, named Emma, had been taken away from them, as they were mistaken for being mentally ill and were taken to an insane asylum. Emma has been transferred between foster families, but managed to get higher education due to her will and wisdom. When she was eighteen, Emma gave birth to a son, but gave him away to focus on her studies. Emma's son was adopted by the evil queen, and named Henry. Henry's insides started doing acrobatics. He knew that it couldn't be true, but the feeling he had told him otherwise. He decided to look at the pictures. They were all blurry paintings, mostly of people he had never met. And then, by the end of the book, a sharp portrait of the evil queen. There was no room for mistakes anymore. It was clearly his mother. The evil queen was the woman who had been a mother to him ever since he was a month old, she was the woman who was now opening the front door to their apartment. Henry knew that had to do all the thinking now, in the few seconds he will have until his mom will attempt to open the door to his room, then bring her key and open it. And so he did. His adoptive mother was the evil queen. His biological mother was Snow White and Prince Charming's daughter, meaning he was their grandson. Who was his father? He quickly flipped through the pages of the book again, trying to find an answer, but for no use. He couldn't find an answer, and his door suddenly opened.

"I thought you'd finish that Harry Potter book by now," she said by the quick glimpse of him she had gotten by now.

"I did. This isn't Harry Potter." he gathered all the powers that he had, and looked at her in the most malicious look he could give.

"Then what is this, Henry?" She asked, failing to seem calm. Her anger and fear were showing under the mask she was wearing, but she didn't seem to know.

"You are the evil queen." He said.

"What? Henry, what are you-"

"You are the evil queen. Am I right?"

"Henry-"

"Am I right?!" He yelled now and stood up.

"Henry, sit down."

"You are the evil queen! You sent Snow White here! You made her give my mom away!"

"_I_ am your mom, Henry."

"My_ real_ mom!" He hadn't talked about his adoption in years. Regina made no efforts to calm herself now.

"I am your real mom! Not that bitch who gave up on you! I raised you for the past ten years, not Emma Swan!" she said the name with such disgust that it seemed as if she was about to throw up. Henry's face lit up a little, just enough for Regina to realize her mistake.

"I'll find her! I'll tell her the truth, and she'll take me back, and we'll break the curse!"

"What curse?" Regina asked as if she had no clue what he was talking about, although deep down she knew she couldn't lie for much longer.

"You know what curse!" He yelled. "You can't deny it! You're in this book!"

In no longer than three seconds Regina was holding the book, flipping through the pages until she got to a portrait that showed her, and it really was undeniable. She felt tears falling on her cheeks, the wall of lies she had built so well now falling apart.

"Henry, this isn't me. I've changed. I love you, Henry."

"Leave," he said quietly.

"I'm your mother, Henry."

"Leave!" he yelled and pushed her outside of the room, the book still in her hands. But he didn't need it anymore. He opened his laptop, and knowing that he doesn't have to worry about Regina going through his history he straight up googled "Emma Swan". As the browser loaded, he went to his bed and took a picture from under his pillow. He returned to the computer with the picture in his hand. There were many Emma Swans on the internet, and he searched through all of them, until he found an Emma Swan who matched the picture he was holding. The website also said that she was going by the name Emma Cassady MD now. He googled Emma Cassady MD, and that's where he found an address and a phone number. Knowing that Regina might be listening to his calls, he decided that it would be a better idea not to call. He wrote the number and the address from the website on the back of the picture of his mom, just in case. He decided to waste no time by packing a bag, and only took the picture and some cash that he's been hiding under his bed for years. He quietly climbed through the window and ran down the fire escape as fast as he could. Breathless, he looked around. A bus stopped in the other side of the road, and he headed there. Once he was on the bus he bothered to check where it was heading. "NYC," the driver said.

"Perfect," said Henry. Emma lived in New York.

He could feel it after a while on the bus. He was close to her; he knew it. He was in New York City only once, in a field trip from school, but it was enough for him to remember how it had looked. And now he was there again, but it wasn't the skyscrapers and lines of yellow cabs that gave NYC away; it was that feeling in his chest. He was close. And now a new feeling crept into his chest: _what do i do now?_ Dizziness attacked him, and through it he tried to think. _A map!_ he thought. _Mom always told me not to talk to strangers, so I can't ask anyone where to go, but I have money. I'll get off the next stop, and go buy a map._

And that's what he did. Fortunately for Henry, next to the bus stop there were signs leading to a convenience store. But on the other side of the stop there was something different that caught his eye: a hot dog stand. His mom wouldn't let him have hot dogs, especially not from stands in the street. But his mom wasn't his mom, and he hadn't eaten in hours. His priorities shifted, and in moments he was eating a hot, saucy hot dog, like he hadn't had in years. When his stomach started filling up he could think straight, and his priorities set back to where they should've been all along. His mom. He pulled the photo out of his pocket and with only one hand (the other was holding his nearly-finished hot dog) he tried to flip it so that he could read the address on the back of the photo. The next events happened quickly. At once, cold wind started to blow from the alley behind Henry to the road and rain started pouring heavily, escorted by a loud thunder that managed to shake the little boy. When he realized that the picture he was holding just a moment ago was blown away to the road he didn't have time to think, so in one movement he dropped the hot dog and sprinted into the dark road, that was almost invisible thanks to the rain and wind and the hour that was getting late. The bright car lights came so quickly toward him, that he barely managed to turn his head before-

* * *

"Honey, I'm home!" she called as she kicked the door open with her leg.

"I thought you said we weren't gonna be one of those couples who say that," he answered while coming out of the kitchen. She hung her coat by the door, and when she turned around he was already next to her, pulling her into a kiss. He was surprised when she pushed him away with her legs.

"Careful, donuts!" she said and looked at the box that she was hugging.

"Welcome home, honey!" he said to the box and took it into the kitchen. She took her shoes off and followed. "How was your day?"

"Ugh, so bus-"

"I was talking to the donuts, if you don't mind."

"Well, if the donuts are stealing away my husband maybe I should stop bringing them home."

That was enough for him to put the box away and return for the kiss he was hoping to get earlier.

"Donuts usually go with bad news in this house." He said as he pulled away.

"So I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I actually have good news."

"Good news for who?" he asked, still worried, and now even a bit suspicious.

"For me. Maybe for you too."

"That's what the donuts are for."

She grinned and he took one out of the box, and only when it was in his mouth she began talking.

"Remember when I applied for the job at that nut house in Maine? With Dr. Miller, that super-brilliant-and-slightly-pretentious psychiatrist?"

"Hmh-hmh," he nodded, still chewing the donut.

"Well..." she said and reached for something in her bag. "I made it!"

She handed him the letter, and with perfect poker face he read it, leaning on the kitchen table. She looked at his face anxiously the whole time, searching for a hint that would give away the way he feels about the news.

"God, Emma," he said eventually and kept looking at the letter. "I guess we'll have some packing to do, if we're moving to maine."

"Really?" She said, her face lightening up at once. "You don't want to think about it? Don't want to consider it for a while?"

"That's what you want. It's your life, I'm just that abandoned, unemployed pup that's following you around, and sometimes cooks for you. I'm not holding you back."

"Really?" She stepped toward him.

"Really."

"Really really?" She took another step.

"Really really."

"Moving to Maine?" She was so close to him now that she could smell the oil from the towel on his shoulder.

"Maine, baby." He smirked at her, the same smirk he was wearing right before saying "I do" six years ago. The same smirk that made her say "a thousand times yes" like all those girls she had always hated on romantic comedies six and a half years ago, and now made her jump at him and kiss him all over his head.

"God, I love you." She stopped kissing him and just held him tight, so tight that he almost couldn't breath. She let go a bit, right before saying, "And you're not a puppy. If anything, you'd be a stray cat."

She stepped back, and they both laughed.

"A stray cat? Really?"

"Yeah, a really dirty, ugly one."

After a long pause that ended the burst of laughter, he said, "You won't leave me for that pretentious doctor, are you?"

"I would, really... But here's the thing; I'm just really into badass, homeless car thieves, and a few years ago I made this _huge_ mistake... I married one."

* * *

What day was it? What month? Year? Did that really matter? The generic answers were always there. Tuesday or February or 2013, those were all the same. Every day would be the same. Waking up, getting a cold shower, having gross breakfast, staring at the tv or at a newspaper or at a window, having disgusting lunch, going to group therapy (because everyone refused to go to the one-on-one sessions) or doing exercise, having tiny dinner and going to bed. Every day, every month, every year. That was for the lucky ones, who hadn't lost their mind. To the system they all lost their minds, but to them - the small group of people who knew the truth, it was easy to put a finger on the real crazy ones. The ones who wouldn't talk, the ones who would attack the doctors or their friends, the ones who were put in isolation. Snow knew it was all her fault. Sometimes she wondered if maybe she was going crazy too, but then she looked at Charming, and usually that was enough to ease her worries. Other times, it would help them grow. _I should've gone crazy instead of them_, the thought kept creeping into her mind and wouldn't leave. _I started the fight with Regina, I led them here, this is my fault. This is my fault, this is my fault, this is my fault..._

"Snow!" The voice penetrated her busy, clogged mind, ejecting her thoughts. "Snow," Charming's voice broke. She looked at him, realizing he was holding her face, worried.

"What-"

"You were crying again."

"I'm sorry,"

"It's not your fault."

"No, I'm sorry for everything."

"It's not your fault, you know it isn't."

"It is. I'm sorry..." her voice broke in the middle of the 'sorry', right when felt a big chunk of tears going up in her throat, threatening to get to her eyes and flood the walls of confidence she surrounded herself in for the past years. And now it finally happened. The tears came, streaming down her cheeks, through her chin and onto Charming's gown, which she now pressed herself against. He leaned his head on hers and stroked her long hair. _Even crying_, he thought,_ she is so beautiful._

"Shh... It's okay," He said, and surprisingly it stopped the tears. She looked up at him, surprised.

"None of this is okay, Charming. It's been twenty eight years, and it's only getting worse."

"Snow..." his voice was suddenly hopeful; it wasn't his comforting voice anymore, it was a voice she could barely recognize. "It's been twenty eight years."

Although she felt like it was supposed to make her hopeful too, she couldn't remember nor understand why.

"She's twenty eight." Her eyes widened in both understanding and surprise.

"Emma!" She nearly yelled, her hands holding his arms so tightly that it was surprising that they didn't explode under the pressure.

"She'll break the curse." He said and grinned at her.

"She'll save us."


End file.
